712 Scanners

Discuss releases by Criterion and the films on them. Threads may contain spoilers!
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Adam X
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:04 am

Re: 712 Scanners

#51 Post by Adam X » Mon Jul 07, 2014 5:23 am

Maybe the use of "needless" was a little careless, but it is yet another case of people on the internet freaking out over a couple of screen cap's without having seen the actual disc for themselves. It's just getting a bit boring, to be honest.

Palander
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2014 5:10 pm

Re: 712 Scanners

#52 Post by Palander » Fri Jul 18, 2014 5:09 pm

There's a bit of a row going on a caps-a-holic comparing the criterion to the
German Subkulture release. Interesting to compare screenshots (usual
caveats...) I'd be inclined to side with Germany. Have they won the Scanners
release battle as well as the world cup?
You can join in the melee and analyse here

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matrixschmatrix
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Re: 712 Scanners

#53 Post by matrixschmatrix » Fri Jul 25, 2014 12:22 am

Just saw this- it feels very much a piece with early Cronenberg, and also brought to mind a bunch of De Palma films, The Fury particularly but also Sisters and Carrie- and it worked really well for me. The score drives it, more than anything, with the nails on the chalkboard quality that keeps you feeling off kilter for nearly the whole film, and the performances mostly feel appropriate, however good or bad they are in an objective sense. I can see where it borders on camp (the faces people make when scanning are consistently amusing) but it's got that bad dream feeling where a sense of silliness just makes it more upsetting to me- and it's got that thing Cronenberg did for quite a while, where everyone is dressed terribly and balding and looks like a normal, ugly person, which likewise makes all of the ugliness pop that much more strongly. It's not necessarily a resonant masterpiece- which I would say The Fly and Videodrome are, if nothing else- but it was pretty well what I was hoping it would be, and I'm happy to have it.

As far as resonance goes, I don't know how intentional it is, but there seems to be a strong sexual metaphor to scanning in a couple of places- the forced scanning feels like a rape in several places, a body taken against its will, and the scene of mutual, consensual scanning has a sexual charge that helps it feel like an oasis in the sea of horrors. It's something that would be distasteful (imagine that, distasteful content in this movie!) if stressed too highly, but I feel like having it hanging around in the unspoken level gives the living nightmare of being a scanner a real world quality, if only tangentially.

Ironside's forehead wound kept looking like a nasty case of ringworm to me, though.

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Adam X
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Re: 712 Scanners

#54 Post by Adam X » Fri Jul 25, 2014 2:49 am

Whether always explicitly intentional or not, that element of (sexual) physicality was very much a part of Cronenberg's work up to and including eXistenZ, if not to a lessening degree in his more recent work as well. It's part of what makes his films so captivating to me, his continuing exploration of the intertwined mental and physical aspects of human nature. I think it's also what gives his more overtly genre-based early work an edge not often matched.

I remember reading in Cronenberg on Cronenberg about a discussion he had with an audience member after a screening (of Stereo or Crimes of the Future I think), where they were convinced due to the film's sexually polymorphous vibe that Cronenberg was gay, despite him stating otherwise.
Last edited by Adam X on Fri Jul 25, 2014 2:58 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Adam X
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Re: 712 Scanners

#55 Post by Adam X » Fri Jul 25, 2014 2:57 am

Does anyone remember if there was anything other than wishful thinking to suggest Criterion may've nabbed the rights to Shivers & Rabid along with his other early films?

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colinr0380
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Re: 712 Scanners

#56 Post by colinr0380 » Sun Aug 24, 2014 8:29 am


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swo17
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Re: 712 Scanners

#57 Post by swo17 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 3:41 pm


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Reeniop41
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Re: 712 Scanners

#58 Post by Reeniop41 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 3:58 pm

I still kind of miss the Dual Format era!

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ryanvision
Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2017 12:35 pm

Re: 712 Scanners

#59 Post by ryanvision » Thu Feb 15, 2018 4:34 pm

Reeniop41 wrote:
I still kind of miss the Dual Format era!
I did find that dislike a bit puzzling after hearing about it. I came into criterion only a few years ago, after the dual-format aspect was already dropped and I remember thinking. well why did they do that? Then I heard about how unfavored it was as an option. I presume an extra disc for bluray enthusiasts was unnecessary and perhaps it increased the cost, but it would seem to forgo a lot of issues related to version availability.

well, it's nice to see Scanners pop up. Scanners still has potentially my all-time favorite Criterion cover. It suits the film's aesthetics wonderfully.

Though a freeze frame of the head explosion would be just as fitting.

Robespierre
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Re: 712 Scanners

#60 Post by Robespierre » Sun Feb 18, 2018 8:41 pm

I love the packaging of this one so I'm not sure how it'll fare as just a normal scanovo case unless they make it a digipak.

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jazzo
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Re: 712 Scanners

#61 Post by jazzo » Mon Feb 19, 2018 12:29 am

Agreed. The design on this disc is stunning. Here’s a little treat, well worth the three seconds of your time http://68.media.tumblr.com/a94396dfc04b ... 1_1280.gif

Incidentally, artist Connor Willumsen’s comic book, Anti-Gone, was one of my favourite books from 2017. Here’s a fascinating interview with him conducted by Dash Shaw for the Comics Journal:
http://www.tcj.com/connor-willumsen-on-anti-gone/.

Enjoy.

Robespierre
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Re: 712 Scanners

#62 Post by Robespierre » Tue Feb 20, 2018 12:11 am

Very nice. Thanks for sharing that!

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jazzo
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Re: 712 Scanners

#63 Post by jazzo » Thu Nov 28, 2019 12:56 pm

Just as a quick follow-up to my post about Connor Willumsen.

His new book, Bradley of Him, was released this past Fall from Koyama Press. It was wonderful and odd, and recommended here, not just because of his related cover art for Scanners, but also because it has a very distinct film connection. It’s a “true” account of actor “Bradley Cooper’s” rise from marginally-talented (but blank) actor, to critic and Oscar darling.

And if anyone else is interested in another tale of Hollywood mythology, I adore Sammy Harkham’s masterful Blood of the Virgin, available from only the finest purveyors of comic books across North America (like The Beguiling, here in Toronto), and serialized in issues 3 through 6 of his independently published “Crickets” book. It’s an incredibly personal and quietly devastating account of a marital collapse as an editor tries to shift careers into directing a Roger Corman-type of exploitation picture.

Perhaps this should be its own topic. Film-Inspired Other Works or something.

trobrianders
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Re: 712 Scanners

#64 Post by trobrianders » Mon Feb 14, 2022 3:32 pm

Found a lovely Blu-ray edition digipack of Scanners. Great design. Was wondering if Cronenberg states why he elected to approve a much darker image where colors are muted and it almost seems as if the darkness of a cinema theater has seeped into the image. I'm not criticising it. I actually like it. Other resons why it works are that it takes the emphasis off the gore and is more in keeping with the qualities of the score.

The Blu-ray format lends itself to brightness and vividness so it's always interesting when a director or DP-approved version takes things in the opposite direction. As well as the Cronenberg-approved version of Scanners, others come to mind; Nic Roeg's DP-approved Studiocanal Blu-ray of Far From the Madding Crowd is much darker than Warner Archive's lovely bright Blu-ray and WKW's Chungking Express Criterion re-release is way darker than WKW's original director-approved Criterion release.

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MichaelB
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Re: 712 Scanners

#65 Post by MichaelB » Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:16 am

A "lovely, bright' image, may not be what the DOP ever wanted, of course.

A case in point: when the BFI was restoring Terence Davies' The Long Day Closes they could easily have produced a bright, gaudy, quasi-Technicolor image from the information on the negative, and indeed mocked up an example just to show Davies, knowing full well that it absolutely wasn't what he wanted. Indeed, it wasn't what he wanted (he made that very clear!) - but without his guidance (and I believe the DOP was involved too) that might not necessarily have been obvious just from the content of the negative.

trobrianders
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Re: 712 Scanners

#66 Post by trobrianders » Tue Feb 15, 2022 8:11 am

MichaelB wrote:
Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:16 am
A "lovely, bright' image, may not be what the DOP ever wanted, of course.

A case in point: when the BFI was restoring Terence Davies' The Long Day Closes they could easily have produced a bright, gaudy, quasi-Technicolor image from the information on the negative, and indeed mocked up an example just to show Davies, knowing full well that it absolutely wasn't what he wanted. Indeed, it wasn't what he wanted (he made that very clear!) - but without his guidance (and I believe the DOP was involved too) that might not necessarily have been obvious just from the content of the negative.
Quite right. I'd like to say a little on each of the examples I raised. With Far From the Madding Crowd I believe a lovely bright image is what the main filmmakers (director and studio) wanted. Nic Roeg appears to have gone 'rogue' in his decision to buck all that and opt with his preferred image for the piece merely because Studiocanal chose to consult with him on their Blu-ray release. I say rogue because he probably voiced his opinion at the time the film was conceived and shot and was simply outvoted and If that's the case he has really taken a liberty. I have both the Warner and Studiocanal Blu-rays and it's easy to see why the Warner version would be preferred by most people.

In the case of Chungking Express it's very interesting how WKW himself approved both differing versions (13 yyears apart). No need to second guess because he has gone at length to explain his reasons in the notes accompanying The World of WKW. I have no problem with that. It's his film.

I was going to also pick up the Second Sight Blu-ray of Scanners to compare but have changed my mind since watching Cronenberg's approved release on Criterion. It's ok to stop there.

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Adam X
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Re: 712 Scanners

#67 Post by Adam X » Tue Feb 15, 2022 4:59 pm

I’m fairly certain at the time of their restorations, Cronenberg, or maybe Mark Irwin, stated the new grading reflected the opportunity to finish the looks of Scanners & The Brood in a way there’d been no time or opportunity for when first released. There may even been a quote cited in one of their respective threads.

trobrianders
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Re: 712 Scanners

#68 Post by trobrianders » Tue Feb 15, 2022 9:30 pm

Adam X wrote:
Tue Feb 15, 2022 4:59 pm
I’m fairly certain at the time of their restorations, Cronenberg, or maybe Mark Irwin, stated the new grading reflected the opportunity to finish the looks of Scanners & The Brood in a way there’d been no time or opportunity for when first released. There may even been a quote cited in one of their respective threads.
When first released on home video? Or do you mean when first released theatrically?

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Adam X
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Re: 712 Scanners

#69 Post by Adam X » Wed Feb 16, 2022 12:38 am

Theatrically, though I’d hazard a guess that these releases were the first time Cronenberg or Irwin were consulted on a home video release (I’m not including laserdisc as I missed that boat) of either film.

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MichaelB
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Re: 712 Scanners

#70 Post by MichaelB » Wed Feb 16, 2022 6:50 am

Adam X wrote:
Tue Feb 15, 2022 4:59 pm
I’m fairly certain at the time of their restorations, Cronenberg, or maybe Mark Irwin, stated the new grading reflected the opportunity to finish the looks of Scanners & The Brood in a way there’d been no time or opportunity for when first released. There may even been a quote cited in one of their respective threads.
This is not unheard of. I've given these examples before, but Phil Meheux and Peter Hannan, the DOPs of The Long Good Friday and Withnail & I respectively, have both said that the 2K Arrow restorations are far closer to what they intended than the original 35mm release versions, never mind video editions.

In both cases, they were able to grade with far greater precision than they'd been able to first time round (Hannan had been particularly unhappy with how dark and murky Withnail looked on its original release, which naturally translated into even darker and murkier VHS versions), and in the case of The Long Good Friday Arrow was able, under Meheux's close and enthusiastic supervision, to fix a shot that had bugged him ever since the day it was filmed - it's the famous speech that Bob Hoskins makes on the boat with Tower Bridge in the background, and logistically only one take was possible. So when the sun passed behind a cloud partway through, Meheux's heart sank, as he knew that this would compromise the shot - but in 2015 he was able to fix it digitally in a way that had been impossible with the technology available to him in 1980.

Stuff like this is technically revisionism, and is normally frowned upon by restorers, whose main aim is to get the film looking exactly how it did at the premiere - but I'd argue quite strongly that in these cases it's permissible, as it's so clearly what they wanted to do originally but for various reasons they were unable to.

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tenia
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Re: 712 Scanners

#71 Post by tenia » Wed Feb 16, 2022 7:36 am

I suppose that's the thin line between legitimately fixing a few original issues and opportunistic "enhancements" thanks to newer technologies.
What Meheux did on The Long Good Friday for instance reminds me of the continuity fixes on Blade Runner, which I'm very much (and I'm seemingly not the only one) OK with, but the limit between fixes and changes for the sake of changes is a tough one.

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MichaelB
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Re: 712 Scanners

#72 Post by MichaelB » Wed Feb 16, 2022 8:42 am

Yes, I think in both those cases (and, I suspect, the Cronenbergs too), there's precious little doubt that they were sincerely trying to achieve the look that they'd always wanted to achieve, but which for various reasons they were unable to quite manage with the budget/schedule/technology available to them - see also Terry Gilliam removing an inadvertently visible piece of white gaffer tape in Time Bandits, which had annoyed him way back in 1981 but there was no way of removing it back then short of either deleting or reshooting the shot in question.

As you say, it gets more contentious when changes are made that clearly don't fall into those categories (William Friedkin, Vittorio Storaro and Michael Mann's revisions of The French Connection, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Thief, for instance), but I think in the cases cited above it's pretty clear-cut and supported by evidence - and therefore completely acceptable.

trobrianders
Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2019 10:18 pm

Re: 712 Scanners

#73 Post by trobrianders » Wed Feb 16, 2022 2:37 pm

These discussions are illuminating. Thanks. One last request. Please give me your thoughts on the screenshot comparisons on beaver for Scanners. It was viewing these comparisons that first minded me to buy the UK released Second Sight Blu-ray even though I'd already acquired the Criterion Blu-ray (though not yet watched). After viewing the Criterion disc I found I was pretty much satisfied that I didn't need to view the Second Sight disc.

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